Devil May Cry
Producer: Capcom
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Rating: Mature
Genre: Third-Person Action
Dante’s Inferno
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Never before has a reboot been so unwanted. The fans of Capcom’s original Devil May Cry took one look at their non-white-haired Dante and said “No thanks.” They took a second look at the gameplay trailer and declared that this was a sissy game made for babies and could never be the pain-in-the-ass triumph from the Playstation 2 era they had come to love. No matter what painstaking effort developers Ninja Theory put into this project, legions of supposed supporters swore to never touch this game and those people made a huge mistake because DmC is a stellar game. The fluid combat, the elaborate set pieces, and the overall presentation makes for an enjoyable reboot of a somewhat stale franchise. Especially for people that have never had the pleasure of enjoying a God of War title, this is your chance to get as close to that near-perfect product as possible.
This game tells a weird story, one that combines parallel demonic universes, battles between demons and angels, and a soda conspiracy that involves gluttony and slavery. Yes, it is as ridiculous as it always has been, but now even more so, as the story has moved from castles and semi-medieval settings to the modern world and beyond. The new Dante, with short, brown hair and a spunky attitude, is just as charming or annoying as the old Dante. That entirely depends on how you feel about snarky young whippersnappers who happen to wield a badass sword and duel pistols. His brother, Vergil, is back and more brooding than ever, as is the newest character, Kat, a medium that assists Dante in traveling between our world and the demon universe. Once that cross-over is finished, the landscape changes entirely. Buildings become warped and ripped, roads break into stairs or steps, and lampposts and newspaper stands sink into the ground to allow for a myriad of monsters to wreck shop.
The combat is really where this game shines, as the player is given half a dozen weapons and multiple ways of modifying each one with a hold of either trigger. Combos combine not only multiple weapons per string, but also artillery, chains, air jumps, throws, and a powerful Demon form that makes Dante unstoppable. The enemies vary from the inept to the insane, with some boss fights taking every ounce of patience and energy one can muster. The game’s 20 missions take about 12 hours to finish, especially if finding every hidden object is the goal. There are also a ton of challenge rooms to test your mettle, as well as the ability to play older missions with upgraded combos, allowing for faster runs and higher ranks on the global leaderboards. By the end of DmC you will probably take back any negative thoughts you once had about an unproven developer taking on a highly-beloved franchise. If this is what we have in store from Dante and all of his demon friends for years to come, then sign me up as this is an early contender for Game of the Year